Fissures Forming...

[Kitari]

Kitari avidly watched each egg as its occupant struggled free, wishing she could devote her full attention to every Impression, but there were far too many fire lizards to allow for such concentration on each. It hardly seemed like she had been crouching here for very long, and the pile of eggs had already dwindled drastically. Pleased candidates around the sand were stroking their new-found companions, admiring the little beauties who had chosen them, and the Fishergirl ached at the sight. She'd always fancied the little creatures, but without any real possibility of Impressing one (being a lowly girl on a ship), she'd never dared to hope. This was her chance.

A squawking brown soared past her, landing on Myra's head, and Kitari cast her new friend a grin. Any congratulations she may have offered would likely have gone unheard, judging by the look of intense concentration on the other girl's face as she pried the fire lizard off her head, so Kitari contented herself with a chuckle at the other's plight before turning back to the sand. It surprised her to realize that every fire lizard was unique, both in hide and personality. She had imagined they would all be mindless, ravenous beasts upon hatching, but personalities accompanied the hunger.

With no other fire lizards on the sand at the moment, the candidate's eyes locked upon a large green making her way from egg to egg. Even as the green paused to survey the onlookers, a blue leg burst from the egg next to her, catching her a blow in the head. Knowing this couldn't have caused any serious injury, Kitari laughed softly, curious as to the reaction of the green. The green erupted in a fit of indignation, her screeches slashing the tense air, and apparently causing her brother a great deal of fright. The handsome blue scampered away from this anger, charging straight for Kitari.

The Fishergirl blinked in surprise, leaning away slightly, for it appeared he might charge headlong into her. The blue, though, seemed perfectly aware of his direction of travel, and he scrambled up her leg and right into her bowl. Kitari's mouth fell open at this decisiveness, for she'd imagined a fire lizard might stand in front of her for a few moments, considering her before making a decision. Delighted, the girl settled the bowl on her lap and began to reach in to offer meat chunks to the blue and prevent him from choking in his overeagerness. However, the quivering blue ball did not seem interested in meat right at that moment.

She hadn't expected that. Kitari paused uncertainly, then tentatively began to stroke the soft hide that was gradually becoming drenched in meat juice. "It's all right," she murmured, lifting a small chunk of meat in her other hand and offering it to the questing nose. The blue's rapidly whirling eyes hesitantly met her own, then he grasped the chunk in his teeth and chewed, considering. The pleasing taste that met his questing tongue was enough to drive his fear momentarily from his mind, and the blue rose up slightly to receive more. Kitari smiled fondly at the fire lizard in her bowl, stroking his hide with one hand and feeding him with the other, exuding the most reassuring thoughts she could. This little one needed her protection; a fierce sense of love and pride welled up in the Fishergirl, for she was determined to provide it.

--------------------------------------------------------

The shifting crowd, filled with excited murmurs, as people leaned forward to watch newly hatched fire lizards, only to lean back again to watch Impressions occuring throughout the crowd, was beginning to make Barec feel ill. There were too many bodies around him, their warmth pressing in, their exclamations clogging the air he was trying to breathe. He wanted to escape, but the fire lizards' creels held him in place. The entire Weyr was an old story come back to life, and these mini-dragons were like the next, most appealing chapter in his horrid adventure. The lad thought desperately that if he found any kind of animal companion, this world might not be so terrifying.

Thus, he stood resolutely, though he felt faint, and latched his eyes upon the cracking eggs. Fire lizards were breaking their shells and stumbling off the sand in all directions, but none had approached him so far. Barec rapidly attempted to count the remaining eggs, but it was difficult to perceive which ones were split and which weren't, as some were partly buried, or the cracked sides were facing away from him.

The number of unhatched fire lizards was dwindling, and the pressure was building, so Barec couldn't help eyeing the escape from the weyr. No! he chided himself. I have to wait...at least until the end...or almost... He bit his lip, fiercely determined to retain what calm he could, and waited. The activity on the sand did serve some distraction, and the lad even found himself grinning from time to time at the antics of the little ones.

A green hatchling was marching about the sands imperiously, frightening a blue in the direction opposite to Barec, and the lad's eyes followed its path. This one also didn't seem to be traveling his direction, so the candidate quickly scanned the rest of the sand for any other cracking eggs. His gaze locked upon a brown head protruding from the bottom of an egg, and, as he watched, the egg began to tumble and roll haphazardly across the sand. Barec's eyes widened in surprise as the pace of the egg increased, accompanied by ever-louder screeches and squawks of discomfort from the occupant. Finally, the tumultous journey ended, as the egg collided with the green fire lizard.

A scuffle ensued, and Barec worried that a hatchling may be injured, but both freed themselves unharmed. The brown then bounded off, spiritedly bouncing off legs in his frenzied quest through the crowd. Hardly daring to hope, the lad watched the brown's path lead him straight to Barec...then past him. Crestfallen, the candidate heaved a sigh and faced the sand once more, only to have his attention drawn back to the brown by another commotion. The fire lizard appeared to have tripped, for he rolled across the stone floor before coming to a halt. Back on his feet, the brown scampered straight back to Barec.

The loud, excited squawks of the fire lizard, accompanied by his excited bouncing on the floor, was nearly overwhelming when coupled with the stress the lad was already experiencing. However, even as this near-frenzy began to set in, the candidate's eyes met the hatchling's, and calm replaced fear. Crouching instinctively, Barec reached out with a chunk of meat, which was eagerly gobbled down by the brown, who then began to twitch as the gob became lodged in his throat. The candidate quickly massaged the fire lizard's throat to work the piece loose, and, crisis averted, began to rip the meat chunks into smaller pieces before placing them in the eager maw. This handsome brown was his, and Barec's delight suffused his mind. The crowd was no longer pressing in; nothing existed except for the meat in his hands and the fire lizard crawling onto his arm.

[D'gellin]

Having removed herself from her father's immediate presence, Trilia began to relax, yet again, and absorb herself in the Hatching. Her confidence gradually began to swell back into place the longer she focused on shivering, quaking, cracking, and splitting eggs. Her eyes lingered affectionately on a pretty, slightly larger than average, spring green fire lizard, which vaguely reminded Trilia of a forest floor with the green's mossy-colored wing membranes. She followed its progression until a little blue foot knocked the green in the head, who creeled in indignation, continued on, and shrieked aloud again when she was knocked over by a rolling egg. Trilia stifled a giggle at all the different little reactions each fire lizard had to one another, how they approached people, how they carried themselves. She was wrong to think they were driven solely on their lust for food; these little creatures had a certain dignity to uphold before succumbing to their hunger. They had a distinct intelligence that Trilia hadn't noticed before now, and was eager to see more of.

~*~*~

Q'tris was silently relieved when he caught the flicker of a smile on Trilia's face; if she was angry at him, she at least wasn't dwelling on it. He heaved a conflicted sigh, absently breaking off a tiny piece of meat for the bronze Regulus. Phineas chirped lazily in his ear, curling his tail possessively around the greenrider's neck while his bronzen brother was preoccupied with food. But she hadn't come back. And she didn't appear to have any inclination to. Again a bubble of terrified rejection rose up in his stomach, making him feel sick and dejected. Trilia was his world; he'd give just about anything to keep her happy; and the reason he came forward was for her sake alone, for a better future. So when he noticed a curious brown ambling around where he was currently sitting, Q'tris couldn't take it anymore. He stood abruptly, causing Phineas to fall forward, digging his claws into Q'tris and squirming awkwardly to keep hold on the fabric of his clothes, squeaking indignantly at the sudden movement, Regulus echoing that distress. But Q'tris wouldn't take any more chances. If his getting the fire lizards was what upset Trilia, then he wouldn't let any more have a chance at him. Carefully, he unhooked Phineas from his shirt and skin, then replaced him on his shoulder and coaxed Regulus to perch on the edge of the tiny bowl of meat, so that he could keep eating. Then he weaved his way through to the exit and sat against the wall a little ways down from the weyr, listening intently to the murmur of voices inside, Trilia's in particuluar

~*~*~

Degellin followed the progression of the green fire lizard much in the same manner as Trilia, though his attention was split again and again as the blue and then the brown hatched. He grinned and lifted his previously limp hand once more, wiggling the meat enticingly. Or at least he hoped it was enticing. Frankly raw, bloody meat held no appeal to him, and shaking it around certainly didn't make it look any better. But he supposed, considering how the fire lizards were diving on the offerings all over the place, one could compare the meat to a lizard as a piece of bubbly pie is to a person. And Degellin would have been all over that pie-meat if someone had been wagging it in his line of vision. So when his plan succeeded, and the large, snippy, but generally rather pretty green fire lizard finally made her way over to him and snapped up the meat in his hand, Degellin made an audible exclamation of delight. His smile was almost too big for his mouth as he (after carefully examining how everyone else was going about the whole fire lizard feeding thing) fished out another tiny piece of meat and deposited it in the green's mouth, who trilled with delight and curled up on the hand holding the bowl, opening her mouth expectantly for more.

[M'kel]

Too many eggs were now shaking violently for a confident count to be made, for it seemed the denizens had had enough of their stays in the tiny ovals. What had been mild, curious twitching before now appeared urgent and concentrated, as the shells on a few eggs seemed to ripple in response to the determined efforts from within. In fact, these efforts became even more audible, as small chips of shell began falling away from an egg in the centre of the sand. As the openings gradually appeared and grew, insistent screeching could be heard from within. The occupant was obviously quite fed up with the confining space, and an entire side of the egg suddenly burst altogether.

A sea green fire lizard, painted with olive streaks, stepped from the remainder of her shell. She let out a high-pitched shriek of delight, then began marching around the sands in exploration. It seemed she was quite a vocal creature, for the piercing cries did not fade with time, and a rise in pitch seemed to accompany her more exciting finds as she perused the rest of the eggs.

The green emitted a particularly loud screech when another egg shattered right beside her. The shards of shell scattered across the sand, revealing a gold fire lizard. Globs of shell and slime still clung to her wings, and the gold shook herself vigorously to remove them. Momentarily disoriented, the little queen, who was hardly as large as the smallest bronze to hatch, peered uncertainly about her. Her hide was a russet shade of gold, and she arched her back elegantly as she stood there, stretching after her long confinement within her egg.

The little queen took a moment more, gazing about the room at the expectant faces, before turning decisively and strolling off the sand. She made her way onto the stone floor, weaving determinedly between legs, until she reached her intended companion. Squawking imperiously, the gold rose up onto her hind legs, grasping Robika’s proffered meat in her dainty claws and drawing it to her maw. A hiss of warning made it clear that she would be sharing this meat with no one.

Upon realizing that the startling entrance of her gold sister would not bring anything more exciting, the sea green fire lizard snorted contemptuously and continued on. Suddenly, she froze, for her whirling eyes had latched upon an unnoticed, fallen chunk of meat on the sand. Eagerly, the green began bounding forward, but her progress was blocked by the movement of an egg, which rolled over, then split open lengthwise, releasing its bronze occupant.

Frantically, the green leapt around the bronze and onto the meat, determined to choke it down before he could reach her. The bronze was not slow by any means, though, and he immediately plunged after her, emitting a harsh bugle of warning. The green immediately dropped the meat from her grasping claws and scurried away, all of the way up Draien’s extended arm to his shoulder, where she clutched at his hair, swaying and screeching in dismay at the bronze’s actions.

[M'kel]

Unbeknownst to the onlookers avidly watching the confrontation between the bronze and the green, another egg had split down the middle, revealing a blue fire lizard with a smooth-looking hide. He was cobalt blue marked with darker blue swirls, and his whirling eyes were fixated on the sand beneath his feet. It was here, the blue was certain, that he would find food to sate his burning hunger. With a challenging cry, he tilted his head down and began to dig, tiny forelimbs scooping surprising amounts of sand at a frenzied pace.

The loud screech from the green as she scampered away from the bronze distracted the blue, however, and this new curiosity outweighed the intrigue of sand. He scurried intently in the direction of the sand and arrived in time to see the bronze dipping his head to engulf the meat. Eyes whirling frantically, the blue fire lizard leaped the remaining distance, landing on top of the bronze and scrabbling at his hide, hissing all the while. Meat momentarily forgotten, the bronze screeched in dismay and twisted underneath his attacker, tossing the blue a short distance onto the sand.

The two combatants faced each other for a moment, the smell of meat filling both their nostrils, then a flash of blue and bronze collided on the sand. Frenzied cries erupted in the air as the pair twisted on the sand, each trying to bite and scratch more than the other. It was in the midst of this mayhem that the side of another egg burst, dumping a periwinkle blue unceremoniously on the sand. His powdered grey limbs were rather scrawny, and he immediately crouched low to the ground upon sighting the indiscernible tangle of bronze and blue limbs. The blue fire lizard trembled visibly with fear of such aggression, and he mechanically edged his way away from the fight.

Spots of green ichor were appearing on the sand, for the ferocity of the fight had increased, and shards of yet another bursting egg littered the area. In contrast to the green ichor staining the sand, the green fire lizard who shook herself out of the remains of her shell had an emerald green hide, which faded to jade on her throat and belly. Unlike the periwinkle blue, she was entirely unconcerned by the fight taking place only a foot from her, for her whirling eyes were fixed upon the forgotten chunk of meat now coated in sand. Without a glance at the flurry of bronze and blue, she pounced forward, chomping on the meat and swallowing it greedily, crooning in delight.

The croon and flash of green beside them caused the fighting pair to pause. Both sets of eyes fixed upon the last shreds of meat disappearing down her throat, and both fire lizards stood riveted as she marched away smartly. No longer in the thick of battle, the two fire lizards realized for the first time that they were hurting not only from hunger now, but also from injuries. With their prize no longer awaiting them on a pedestal, the pair broke apart, shying away from each other and hissing in warning.

The blue fire lizard who had been fighting suddenly let out a gurgling moan and stumbled sideways, his limbs threatening to give way. A trail of ichor followed this movement, for his belly seemed to have been torn open, along with a few other minor cuts on his form. Creeling desperately, the blue raised his eyes to Shikai’s, stumbling a few steps more as he struggled to reach her before collapse. Although the injury was far from life threatening, the shock of it was clearly affecting the flit.

The bronze, no longer embroiled in battle, was finally standing still long enough for his hide to be visible. He was a rusty copper in colour, with a hint of green, and his fiercely large eyes were now darting frantically around the room, for he, too, required assistance. There was a long gash on his right shoulder, and the ichor flowing from it indicated that it was quite deep. Crooning in relief, the fire lizard lumbered forward with a limp, no longer as graceful as he had been upon hatching, to press himself against Journye’s leg, watching her hopefully.

Unaware that the battle had finally ended, the periwinkle blue was still creeping from egg to egg away from his point of hatching. He darted furtive glances back over his shoulder from time to time, but seeing that he was not pursued, the fire lizard dared move somewhat more quickly and not so mechanically. Finally, he reached the edge of the eggs, and he studied the expanse of open sand with some concern. His person was just across that sand, but he would be quite exposed in crossing it. Swallowing his uncertainty, the blue finally raced forward, scampering right onto A’dis and burying his face in the dragonrider’s chest.

The green fire lizard, having tasted the delicious meat, was anxious to find more. She continued her brisk pace about the sand, ignoring disturbances from eggs and fire lizards alike, until she reached Myra. She gave the brown in the girl’s hands an indignant snort, creeling to be fed in favour of his unimportant other.

[Shikai]

Wonder and awe consumed Shikai’s face as she watched fire lizard after fire lizard lurch onto the sand. They were just out of the shell, but newborns, yet they emerged walking, flapping, creeling, and squawking, each making clear through both its appearance and personality that he or she was unique, an individual. She was thoroughly enjoying herself by watching their antics, and was happy, if a tiny bit envious, for each person the fascinating creatures chose.

At the start of the hatching, she had been very much excited by the prospect of bonding with a fire lizard, although she had, as always, prepared herself for the possibility of disappointment. She did hate to ruin a good occasion like a fire lizard hatching for herself by wallowing in unhappiness that she was not among the lucky ones chosen. As the flits left the sands, Shikai watched curiously and happily to see who they had chosen, but she began to feel that injustice was being done when some people managed to attract two fire lizards, when so many were still hoping for the companionship of but one! What was so undesirable about those who weren’t chosen that the fire lizards preferred to flock to those who were already busy feeding their clutchmates? No, no, she told herself, it couldn’t be like that. There was nothing wrong with her, she just must not be right for those certain fire lizards.

However, while she would have been able to leave M’kel’s weyr lizardless if the fire lizards had all gone to different people, leaving without one when several people had more than one was going to be difficult. It just wasn’t fair, somehow!

Progressively, the sands grew emptier, and it became difficult to find an unhatched egg among the many tattered shells to give her hope to stay. Very few remained, and Shikai had already settled into giving herself her usual talk to be glad to have witnessed a fire lizard hatching, and to have had a chance. That was more than many could say, wasn’t it? She ought to be satisfied with that. Shikai knew without a doubt that she wasn’t, but admitted this guiltily to herself, for she really shouldn’t have been expecting so much. So occupied was she with her internal struggle that it was only the flashes of blue and bronze, along with harsh fire lizard noises, that broke her reverie.

Apparently, the two were fighting over a fallen scrap of meat, and the fierce determination with which the blue battled his larger, stronger bronze brother shocked Shikai. She had not known that such young, small creatures could have such courage, and such resolve. However, it was clear that they were badly injuring each other, and she knew it needed to be stopped, quickly! Yet she was not standing in the front, and many bodies blocked her from attempting to separate the fighting creatures. Fortunately, while the two weren’t watching, a green spotted the meat and gulped it down herself! This snapped the two fire lizards out of their anger, and they then started toward their chosen humans.

Seeing the trail of ichor left behind, Shikai’s heart ached to help the blue fire lizard. He was woefully injured, and all Shikai’s resentment over the uneven distribution of the fire lizards evaporated at the sight of but a newly shelled creature, already so hurt. As though the fire lizard sensed her thoughts, the blue looked up, locking eyes with her, and actually started to move toward her! However, his injuries prevented him from reaching her quickly, for he stumbled along with great difficulty, his young body clearly in shock from the fight, the effort, and the damage. But he had great inner strength, and finally made it to her, his eyes pleading for aid.

With gentle Healer’s hands, Shikai scooped the blue up, surveying his injuries with a practiced eye. The blue proved to be a good patient, and let her inspect him fully without resistance. Not that he seemed to have the energy for that. Fortunately, Shikai noted with a relieved sigh, the injuries were none too severe, and the blue was probably reacting more from the shock of it all than the actual wounds, although they were certainly quite painful. She would need healing supplies…ah, yes! Shikai’s face lit up as she remembered that, as always, she had her small pouch of supplies. She was not required to carry them, but one never knew when an emergency would occur!

Shikai backed out of M’kel’s weyr, taking a seat on the steps right outside. Opening her pouch, she carefully removed cloth, witch hazel, and a vial of numbweed solution. His wounds were deftly bandaged with witch hazel to aid in stopping the bleeding, and, once it had stopped, Shikai applied numbweed to deaden the pain. The fire lizard crooned softly with relief, and then became aware of his other needs once more. Catching sight of her food bowl, and the scent of the meat, the blue darted at once for it, and Shikai had to feed him pieces herself to ensure that he wouldn’t choke in his haste. Emergency averted, the realization began to sink in that she, Shikai, had impressed a fire lizard of her very own!

[etoile]

Robika decided to sit. She didn't see the logic behind standing up to wait for a flitter- they were babies. They wouldn't want to put in too much effort when food was right down at their feet. So Robika sat, with a humming, digruntled Emanor sitting on her shoulder. The greenrider waved her strip of meat around enticingly, but she could feel Emanor's greedy eyes on it. Robika sighed, turning to look at the flitter.

"Em," she said patiently, her maternal feelings taking over at once. "Hopefully, you're going to be a big sister starting today, but you need to act like one. Can you do that for me, sweetie?" she asked, knowing she may have to bribe the green. Emanor tilted her head, chirping quizzically. She liked it when Robika bribed her- it usually meant food. Sighing, Robika nodded. "Fine. If you do, I'll get you a treat later."

Emanor crooned, pleased everything was going her way. It didn't stop her from hoping that Robika wouldn't Impress though- she had her large eyes on that strip of meat. Maybe it would go to her rather than a baby who wouldn't savor it! But she had promised Robika to be a good older sister, so she didn't openly protest to anything.

Robika's dark eyes drifted back to the clutch, watching the antics of the little creatures, and each Impression. She had no right to be jealous, she knew. She already had a flitter that meant the world to her. However, she so wanted to have the same look of ecstasy on her own face as the lucky others did! She hoped fervently to Impress, although with each Impressing flitter, the more discouraged she got.

Fortunately, her luck finally pulled through with a screech from a green. Looking up curiously, she saw a beautiful little queen break free, stretching herself leisurely. The greenrider suppressed a giggle- this darling was utterly adorable! Sitting up straighter, she held her meat out eagerly, hoping to Faranth that Emanor wouldn't scare the queen away.

The queen actually was coming her way! Robika realized in awe. She wouldn't waste her energy trying to be humble and saying she wasn't good enough, because it was the queen who was choosing, she thought to herself firmly as the queen took the meat daintily. Scooping the golden creature into her hands, she felt like an obedient drudge, feeding the queen whenever the demand for food came up.

After a long while, the queen finally became sated, and curled into a ball, asleep instantly. The Impression to a queen flitter finally sunk in, and Robika was left in awe. Shifting her into her arms, she cradled the baby, thinking of names. Emanor trilled softly, accepting the flitter into their family without a grudge. This surprised Robika, who would've thought Emanor would be pushing the creature out of her arms. But no- she could tell the only thing Emanor was upset with was not being able to eat the meat.

"It's all right, sweetie, I'll get you a treat later," she replied softly to the green so as to not wake her new little darling up. Emanor chirped complacently, nuzzling Robika happily. The greenrider smiled and proceeded to think of names. After a brief moment, she grinned, knowing what the name should be. "You'll be Padma," she told the sleeping flitter. The gold shifted in her sleep, not hearing, but somehow knowing.

--

Elkie, too, was trying to think of a name, but not as easily as Robika had. Anything she thought of was too long, too hard to pronounce, too hard to remember. She sighed, snuggling the little brown closer to her. Shard it, he was so soft! She felt herself get distracted by the wonder of this Impression to think of a name- it relieved her that a dragon came with a name.

Not wanting the brown to be nameless the rest of his life, the gears in her mind worked harder to try and think of something suitable. Unfortunately, it seemed so hard to think of a name that would suit him! She grumbled. In her thinking, names of foods drifted through her mind, but she batted them away. She couldn't name a flitter Meatroll. It would be like sentencing him to death by wherries if she named him that! She sighed, irritated by the name choosing and distracted by how sweet he was.

Scowling in concentration, something in her mind suddenly worked like a glowbasket being lit. Why not name him after things she liked? Beaming suddenly, names and steps of dances drifted in a rainbow through her thoughts. Aerial could be a good name, but she didn't think it sounded like her brown. She ran her tongue across her teeth, trying to remember other kinds of dances that could double as a name. Then, a name came to her! Tango. Tango was the perfect name for this little brown!

[Shikai]

Shikai’s little blue fire lizard’s seemingly endless appetite finally stated, the blue did not fall asleep in her arms, but crawled up to her shoulder, peering boldly out at the world. Shikai couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of her little blue, who was wrapped in clean white cloth in several places, the most injured-looking flit she had ever seen. Exhaustion, both from the ordeal of hatching and the greater one of fighting for the meat scrap, was beginning to overtake him, much to his displeasure. Annoyed, he came down from her shoulder, curling up in her lap. Shikai looked fondly down at him, still trying to come to grips with the fact that he was, completely and unquestionably, hers. Then it dawned on the girl that she had yet to name the amazing creature, and she frowned thoughtfully while stroking his head with her index finger.

“I suppose you need a name, don’t you? Weeell…what do you think of…Sirius?”

The blue did not raise his head, but his eyes flicked up to look at her, and they whirled slightly. He chirped in acknowledgement and, Shikai supposed, acceptance. A wide smile crossed the candidate’s face, and the name was set.

“Sirius.” She repeated, stroking the blue, now officially dubbed Sirius, as he drifted off into sleep.

-----

Myra had her hands full, quite literally, with Pan, and had been neglecting to watch the remaining fire lizards hatch. However, the worried murmurings of people around her caused her to shift her attention back to the sands.

She was unhappy to see two fire lizards, a blue and a bronze, fighting over a scrap of fallen meat. However, Myra then saw something they didn’t notice: a lovely, newly hatched emerald green fire lizard had also spotted the meat and, taking no notice of her quarreling clutchbrothers, gulped down the morsel herself with obvious pleasure.

While the two fire lizards were injured and it would be cruel to laugh, the whole situation was oddly humorous. Pan, who had been watching with mild interest if only because Myra was, squawked as he noticed the green approaching. Honestly, he didn’t really care if he had to share his chosen person, so long as she didn’t take all his food! Myra, however, was stupefied, for she had counted herself lucky to receive one fire lizard, but two?! She looked around, feeling more conspicuous than ever, and knowing that those who were watching and didn’t have any fire lizards themselves would likely be upset. Half-heartedly, she tried to shoo the green away, but she creeled indignantly at this treatment, and butted her head against Myra’s leg insistently.

Pan snorted back at the green, who made it clear that she thought him unimportant in her quest for food. With a sigh of resolve, Myra picked up the beautiful little green, beginning to feed her in addition to brown Pan, who was nearly full. A soft smile began to retake her face as her heart warmed to the hungry green, just as it had to Pan. Fears about the reactions of others who saw her with both a brown and a green faded to the background, for this green was much more important.

When Pan’s appetite was sated and, later, the green’s as well, Myra’s thoughts turned to naming the lovely little creature. Myra tilted her head sideways to see the flit from a different angle, as though that would help her decide. Strangely, it did, for the next moment a name came to mind. “Lyra.” She proclaimed to the green, and Lyra’s head perked up to look at Myra as she heard her name for the first time of many. Yes, Myra counted herself very lucky indeed, to have helped in finding a fire lizard clutch, witnessing their hatching, and bonding to two! Whatever people said, she would never be unhappy that Pan and Lyra had chosen her.

[kati]

Rytia 'snuck' in to see what was going on, only to find a firelizard hatching. She almost let out a tiny gasp, but looked around. It seemed like everyone had a firelizard. She'd never really seen one up close, but if she got on, she could have something that Anah didn't have. She smirked, and waited, parhaps one would just fly up or something.

[Journye]

Journye could help the small cry that escaped her lips when the two flits began to fight and she tried to make her way forward to the sand, but most people were to shocked to want to move and they gave her mean looks when she nudged at them. By the time she made it closer to the front the fight was over and the blue was limping away leaving a trail of ichor behind him. She frowned and followed his progression, letting out a soft sigh of relief when she noted that he had decided to go to Shikai for food and attention.

Journye looked down she felt something nudge against her leg and she smiled gently when she noticed the injured little bronze leaning against her. She murmured soothingly to him as she knelt in the small space she had and fed him a few pieces of meat to keep his attention as she looked the wound over, she couldn't be mad at him, his blue brother had pounced him after all, but no blame was to be placed anywhere but on instinct. The bronze ate the meat greedily, but stood still and whimpered as Journye carefully cleaned his wound then placed numbweed upon it to sooth him. The bronze crooned in relief as the pain stopped and creeled for more food.

Journye carefully lifted the the little one andm oved closer to the wall so that she could sit. She didn't want to leave yet just in case she was needed to help another injured flitter. She continued to murmur gently to the little bronze as she fed him and bandaged his wound, later after he had settled and all the flits had hatched she would need to clean the wound again and possibly stitch it closed. It would all depend on what it looked like when she was able to get him to keep still long enough to get a closer look.

The little bronze had finally ate his fill and was beginning to doze curled up on Journye's lap, crooning contentedly. Journye couldn't help but smile as the realization took hold that she had actually just impressed a flit, and a bronze at that. She could think of all the help he would be in the hospice and the companionship he would give her. "Hmm...I think I'll name you....Reryu," she said with a smile. Reryu trilled his acceptance before dozing back to sleep.

[M'kel]

A tiny hole appeared in the side of another egg, and a blue snout protruded from it briefly, as if testing the world to decide if it was worth the effort to break out. It seemed that Pern had passed the test, for a claw replaced the snout, and a few insistent tugs tore the hole wide enough for the entrance of the blue fire lizard. He was a sapphire blue with darker forelimbs and head, and he paused a moment in study of another quivering egg.

A vertical split broke another egg in half, and a dark brown with amber coloured wings stepped forth. He trilled in delight at his success, emitting a highly musical tone, and began to pick his way through the eggs, chirping all the way. He made his way off the sand, passing by a man with two fire lizards already clinging to him. For some reason, the brown felt a great deal of hostility towards this man, and he hissed vehemently at the fire lizards before continuing on. He marched proudly to Trilia’s hopefully outstretched hand and accepted her offer of meat.

The blue fire lizard, meanwhile, had been staring at an egg other than the brown’s, and he continued to gaze at it avidly as chips broke off and fell away. It suddenly burst, revealing a pale green fire lizard with a patchwork of forest green across her sides and back. She raised her large, square-shaped head and snorted slightly at the watching blue.

The snort combined with the surprise of the bursting egg was too much, and the blue fire lizard leapt away in a thrill of excitement. He hummed along to the brown’s musical trills without realizing it, bounding from eggshell to eggshell in an effort to cross the obstacle course that was his sandy birthplace. Leaping over another green fire lizard who appeared in his path, the blue finally achieved his goal and bounded onto Anya’s lap.

The green who had been leapt over was a dark swampy colour, speckled with lighter flecks of green. Her glossy hide flashed as she cowered in surprise at being leapt over so enthusiastically, and she was frozen for a moment or two upon the sand. Finally, adrenaline surged through her trembling limbs, and she let out an alarmed squeal before fluttering up to Kerji’s arm and chittering at him insistently.

A last egg stood whole upon the sand, and its occupant appeared to be struggling fiercely to break through. Tiny cracks had formed in numerous locations, but it seemed that the fire lizard had given up on each, believing the shell too thick in that spot to break through. The patchwork green, who had been passing the egg on her way to the hopeful watchers, paused. Her whirling eyes studied the quivering egg riddled with shallow cracks. She thingyed her head to the side, then placed a clawed foot upon one of the cracks, giving it a forceful shove.

The shell burst inward, and a blue tumbled out. His green sister, pleased to have helped, marched smartly off the sand. There was one here who needed another kind of help: that of a constant, caring presence. She would provide that. With that thought in mind, the green butted her head against Corenne’s leg, making her presence obvious.

Crumpled, the runty, pastel blue fire lizard with a navy tip on his tail struggled to gain his feet. Instead of feeling gratitude for his green sister’s efforts, the blue felt only indignation. He had been certain that a few more good pushes would be enough, although his energy had been draining rapidly, and this probably wasn’t the case. Still, he burned with desire to prove his worth in the face of this failure. Although weakened, he marched as boldly as he could off the sand to Rytia’s feet. There, although he wanted to lie down, he stood resolutely and waited to be fed.